1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a device for repairing vehicle bodies and frames, and more particularly to a support column to which tension members cab be connected through hydraulic jacks to impose tension upon vehicle frame parts for purposes of straightening the parts, and also including connections for support members to absorb reaction forces imposed upon the column when the tension forces are applied to a stationary vehicle frame.
2. Description of the Related Art
Vehicle frames and bodies are often subjected to impact forces resulting from collisions either with other vehicles or with stationary objects. The results of such collisions are that various parts of the outer body structure, and possibly also the inner supporting frame structure, are deflected inwardly of the vehicle, and must therefore be pulled outwardly in order to restore the body and frame to its original form. In practice, the vehicle is restrained in position, and tension forces are applied to suitable points adjacent to where the deflection occured, in order to pull in an outward direction the body or frame part to which the tension is applied.
Various devices have been developed in the past for applying straightening forces to portions of vehicles, and in a desired force application direction. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,340,720, which issued Sept. 12, 1967, to G. N. Chartier, a movable repair tool is disclosed in which a pair of outwardly diverging arms are provided to serve as spaced anchoring points that are placed against a vehicle body part, and a tension chain is positioned between the outwardly extending arms and is connected to the body at a point between the anchoring points so that when the chain is placed under tension the portion of the frame or body between the anchoring points is pulled outwardly until it reaches a predetermined position. The tension is imposed by an hydraulic jack that is carried on a support column, and the other end of the chain is connected to the jack. In U.S. Pat. No. 3,888,100, which issued June 10, 1975, to Finis L. Chisum, there is disclosed a body and frame straightening device that includes a series of rails to which the vehicle is securely connected by means of chains. A plurality of spaced, vertically extending pull posts supported on the rails are provided for applying tensile loads to particular parts of the body or frame by means of tension chains.
In. U.S. Pat. No. 4,398,410, which issued Aug. 16, 1983, to Fred A. McWhorter et al., there is disclosed another form of a pull post that is adapted to be carried on a rectangular frame onto which the vehicle is secured. The pull post is movably carried by the frame so that it can be shifted along the side of a vehicle from the front portion to the rear portion in order to permit the application of a desired pulling force at a desired point on the vehicle frame or body.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,501,136, which issued Feb. 26, 1985, to Germain Celette, there is disclosed another form of pull post that is essentially free standing and not connected with a rectangular supporting frame. That pull post includes a unitary hydraulic jack for applying a pulling force to a vehicle frame or body.
Although a number of vehicle body and frame straightening devices have been developed, those described above are either excessively complex and expensive, or they are relatively simple, but are limited in their applicability and therefore require excessive time and effort to reset the device in order to permit the number of individual pulls that might be required to straighten a particular part of a vehicle body or frame. In that regard, a roll-cage-type frame structure appears to be the direction in which automobile manufacturers are headed. Such a frame structure is even more difficult to straighten because of the rigidly interconnected crossbars that characterize that design, and it is therefore necessary that simultaneous, accurately placed, plural pulls be employed in order to properly straighten such frames.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an automotive body and frame repair device that is relatively simple and inexpensive, and yet can permit the application of single or plural pulling forces on several areas of a vehicle body or on a vehicle body and frame simultaneously without the need for a complex vehicle supporting frame or structure.
It is a further object of the present invention to permit plural pulling forces to be applied to a vehicle body or frame without requiring frequent movement and resetting of the device.
It is another object of the present invention to overcome the shortcomings of the know vehicle body and frame straightening devices.